Janice Williams, Baltimore City Health Department

Janice's Fellowship:

As a Baltimore Corps Fellow, Janice will be working as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner of Youth Wellness, Substance Use and Youth Violence (YWCH) to assist with program strategy, development, and implementation of YWCH programs. She will provide day-to-day support for the Deputy Commissioner; staff the Deputy Commissioner in and prepare her for meetings; coordinate special projects, specifically community engagement projects and the planning and implementation of programs aimed at addressing the causes of health disparities in the community. She will also coordinate and direct program-specific deliverables across the agency, as assigned by the Deputy Commissioner.

Background:

Janice was the Program Director for the Innovation Lab (InLabs) program in Sierra Leone, with Global Minimum Inc. She was born in Sierra Leone and left in 1998 at the height of the Civil War. She graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman's college in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and a double minor in Communications and Creative Writing. She enrolled in the Masters International, Peace Corps program and began her Peace Corps service in July 2010. She served in Niger as a Municipal Community Development volunteer, but was evacuated due to security issues. Janice was directly transferred to Guinea where she completed her service as a Community Economic Development volunteer working with youth on career development and entrepreneurship skills. In 2013, she received her Master's in Government and International Affairs from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is one of the Co-founders of the Sierra Leonean Empowerment Network (SLEN), an organization launched in July 2013 focused on professional development in the Sierra Leonean community. She is proficient in three languages: French, Krio and Hausa.

Why do you choose to live and work in Baltimore?  

I believe that it is a community where I can make great impact and that many of the hardships faced by community members here are similar to what my people in Sierra Leone are facing.

What's one surprising fact about yourself?  

I love scary movies.

Go-to snack? 

Popcorn, snickers, almond joy

Follow Janice: @kadijatu_09